Readme
Last revised: June 5, 2002
     _________________________________________________________________

                                   Readme


  Please at least SKIM this document before asking questions. In fact, READ
  IT if you've never successfully set up an Eggdrop bot before. PLEASE! READ
  IT!

  Contents

    0. Important notice
    1. What is Eggdrop?
    2. How do I get Eggdrop?
       2a. How to get the latest version of Eggdrop via CVS
    3. Quick startup
    4. Upgrading
       4a. Upgrading from a pre-1.3 version to 1.6
       4b. Upgrading from an older 1.3/1.4/1.5/1.6 version to a newer one
    5. Command line
    6. Frequently Asked Questions
       6a. What do I do if I get the error "User file not found"?
       6b. My Eggdrop won't run; It just says "Can't find your hostname!"
       6c. What the Heck is Tcl?
       6d. My bot dies and the last entry in the logfile is "Received terminate
           signal". What does that mean and can I prevent it?
       6e. My compile dies at the last minute with "LD fatal signal 11"!
       6f. Someone else set up a bot I don't like. Are there any backdoors I
           can use to take their bot down?
       6g. What are modules?
       6h. Can I compile Eggdrop without dynamic modules?
           6h1. Do I still need to "loadmodule" modules?
       6i. Where can I get a pre-compiled Eggdrop for my computer?
       6j. I get "Makefile:3 : invalid operator" or some such thing when I
           try to "make".
       6k. When I "tclsh scripts/weed <userfile> c" It barfs chunks at me
           and dies.
       6l. I get "ld-elf.so.1: Shared object "libtcl80.so.1" not found" or
           "eggdrop: error in loading shared libraries / libtcl8.1.so: cannot
           open shared object file: No such file or directory" when I try to
           start my bot.
       6m. I get a whole pile of "unresolved symbol 'Tcl_AppendResult'" (or
           some other symbol) when I try to load a module.
    7. Setting up a crontab
       7a. Setting up a crontab using autobotchk
    8. Boring legal stuff
    9. Mailing list
   10. Documentation
   11. Obtaining help

     _________________________________________________________________


  (0) NOTICE

    Please read this file carefully before trying to set up Eggdrop. Also,
    make SURE that you select your +n (owner) users wisely! They have 100%
    access to your bot and account! ONLY GIVE THIS POWER TO SOMEONE YOU
    TRUST COMPLETELY!!


  (1) WHAT IS EGGDROP?

    Eggdrop is the world's most popular Internet Relay Chat (IRC) bot; it is
    freely distributable under the GNU General Public License (GPL). Eggdrop
    is a feature rich program designed to be easily used and expanded upon by
    both novice and advanced IRC users on a variety of hardware and software
    platforms.

    An IRC bot is a program that sits on an IRC channel and preforms automated
    tasks while looking just like a normal user on the channel. Some of these
    functions include protecting the channel from abuse, allowing privileged
    users to gain op or voice status, logging channel events, providing
    information, hosting games, etc.

    One of the features that makes Eggdrop stand out from other bots is module
    and Tcl scripting support. With scripts and modules, you can make the bot
    preform almost any task you want. They can do anything from preventing
    floods to greeting users and banning advertisers from channels.

    You can also link multiple Eggdrop bots together to form a botnet. This
    can allow bots to op each other securely, control floods efficiently, and
    even link channels across multiple IRC networks. It also allows the
    Eggdrops share user lists, ban lists, exempt/invite lists, and ignore
    lists with other bots if userfile sharing is enabled. This allows users
    to have the same access on every bot on your botnet. It also allows the
    bots to distribute tasks such as opping and banning users. See doc/BOTNET
    for information on setting up a botnet.

    Eggdrop is always being improved and adjusted because there are bugs to
    be fixed and features to be added (if the users demand them, and they make
    actually sense). In fact, it existed for several years as v0.7 - v0.9
    before finally going 1.0. This version of Eggdrop is part of the 1.6 tree.
    A valiant effort has been made to chase down and destroy bugs.

    This README file contains information about how to get Eggdrop, command
    line options for Eggdrop, what you may need to do when upgrading from
    older versions, a list of frequently asked questions, how to set up a
    crontab, some boring legal stuff, info about the mailing list (a great
    place to ask questions, and a good place to report bugs, too), some basics
    about CVS usage, and some channels where you might get help with Eggdrop.


  (2) HOW TO GET EGGDROP

    Before you can compile Eggdrop, you need to have Tcl installed on your
    system. Most systems should have Tcl on them by now -- you can check by
    trying the command "tclsh". If it works, you will be given a "%" prompt,
    and you can type "exit" to exit the program. This means Tcl is installed
    on your system. If tclsh doesn't load, then Tcl probably isn't on your
    system, and you will need to install it. The best ftp site for Tcl is
    ftp://ftp.scriptics.com/pub/tcl.

    Tcl comes with the most distributions of Linux. HOWEVER, the one that comes
    on Slackware 3.0 is goofed up and you'll have to re-install it for yourself
    to get it working.

    Currently, the 1.6 tree of Eggdrop is developed at eggheads.org. You can
    get the latest version of Eggdrop from the following url:

      http://www.geteggdrop.com

    You might try www.eggheads.org for help and information.


  (2a) CVS USAGE

    You can obtain the VERY LATEST version of Eggdrop, that is still under
    development, by using CVS. CVS means 'Concurrent Versions System' and is
    a tool for developers to always keep source code up to date. Try 'man cvs'
    on your shell for more information about CVS.

    This is intended only for users that know a good bit about Eggdrop. Be
    aware that the versions of Eggdrop that you get via CVS are still being
    developed, and may be buggy. The Eggheads devteam will in NO WAY take
    any responsibility for whatever might happen to you or your shell if
    you use a CVS version of Eggdrop.

    To obtain Eggdrop over CVS, do as follows:

      1. Log into your shell.

      2. Type: 'export
         CVSROOT=:pserver:anonymous@cvs.eggheads.org:/usr/local/cvsroot'.

      3. Type 'cvs login'.

      4. Press <enter> when prompted for a password.

      5. In your home dir, type 'cvs checkout eggdrop1.6'

      6. In ~/eggdrop1.6, you should have a copy of the latest CVS version
         of Eggdrop.

    Notes:

      o You can 'cvs logout', but you don't need to.

      o You don't need to go through this whole process every time. If you
        want to get a CVS version of Eggdrop at a later time, you can just
        'cd ~/eggdrop1.6' and type 'cvs update -dAP'.

      o If you experience errors when using 'export', you might be using tclsh
        as a shell. If so, try using the command 'setenv' instead of 'export':

          setenv CVSROOT :pserver:anonymous@cvs.eggheads.org:/usr/local/cvsroot


  (3) QUICK STARTUP

    Please see the 'INSTALL' file AFTER you finish reading this file.


  (4) UPGRADING


  (4a) UPGRADING FROM A PRE-1.3 VERSION TO 1.6

    #### BACK UP YOUR USERFILE ####

    We can't stress this enough. If you are upgrading and you have even a
    slight possibility of downgrading again later, you will HAVE to back up
    your userfile, or you will lose it. v1.3 of Eggdrop radically changed a
    lot of things.

    There are many major changes between v0.9, v1.0, v1.1 and v1.6, so PAY
    ATTENTION to this part if you have a v0.9, 1.0 or 1.1 bot currently. If
    you're just starting out, you can skip this section.

    If you run share bots, you will need to upgrade them all at the same time
    because of the new userfile format. Older bots will be able to link in,
    but will not get or send a userfile. MAKE A NEW CONFIG FILE from the
    example; there are some radical changes.

    If you are upgrading from 0.9/1.0 to 1.6, just redo the whole thing.
    Absolutely everything has changed, including the userfile and config file
    formats.

    If you are upgrading from 1.1/1.2 to 1.6, you will likely want to redo
    the config file, as much as changed. BACK UP! You will need to run 'tclsh
    scripts/weed/<userfile> c' to convert your userfile from v3 (1.1/1.2) to
    v4 (1.3/1.4/1.5/1.6).


  (4b) UPGRADING FROM AN OLDER 1.3/1.4/1.5/1.6 VERSION TO A NEWER 1.6 VERSION

    If you followed the 'INSTALL' file and did a 'make install' (or 'make
    install DEST="path"') after 'make', this will be pretty easy. Just upload
    the new eggdrop1.6.x.tar.gz file to your home dir on your shell, gunzip
    and untar it, and type 'cd ~/eggdrop1.6.x'. Next, type './configure',
    'make config' or 'make iconfig', then 'make'. Then, kill the bot ('.die'
    on the party line), and 'make install' to the same directory your bot
    is currently in. After that, you can just restart your bot. You may wish
    to delete the old Eggdrop executable and modules as well, especially if
    you have limited disk space.

    You should read through the new eggdrop.conf file for all of the new
    options in Eggdrop 1.6.x if you are upgrading from 1.3.x or 1.4.x. You
    can copy and paste any of these settings into you current conf file if
    you do not want to use the default settings.


  (5) COMMAND LINE

    Eggdrop has some command-line options -- not many, because most things
    should be defined through the config file. However, sometimes you may
    want to start up the bot in a different mode, and the command-line
    options let you do that. Basically, the command line for Eggdrop is:

      % eggdrop [options] [config-file]

    The options available are:

      -n: Don't background. Normally, Eggdrop will move itself into the
          background when you start it up, meaning you'll get another shell
          prompt, and you can do other things while the bot is running. With
          -n, you won't return to the shell prompt until the bot exits (which
          won't normally happen until it's killed). By default, -n will send
          all log entries to the console.

      -nt: Don't background, use terminal. This is just like -n, except that
           instead of seeing log entries, your console will simulate a DCC
           chat with the bot.

      -nc: Don't background, show channel info. This is just like -n, except
           that instead of seeing log entries, every 10 seconds your screen
           will clear and you will see the current channel status, sort of
           like "top".

      -m: Create userfile. If you don't have a userfile, this will make Eggdrop
          create one and give owner status to the first person that introduces
          himself or herself to it. You'll need to do this when you first set
          up your bot.

      -v: Show version info, then quit.

    Most people never use any of the options except -m, and you usually only
    need to use that once.


  (6) FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (or "Why doesn't this thing work?")

    6a. WHAT DO I DO IF I GET THE ERROR "USER FILE NOT FOUND"?

      1. Run Eggdrop with the "-m" option (i.e., "eggdrop -m eggdrop.conf").

      2. Go to IRC and send "hello" to your bot (i.e., "/msg mybot hello").

      3. You will become an owner on your bot. You can leave the bot running
         (nobody else will become an owner if they say "hello"), but in the
         future, don't use the "-m" option when running the bot.

    6b. MY EGGDROP WON'T RUN; IT JUST SAYS "CAN'T FIND YOUR HOSTNAME!"

      Your machine is set up strangely, and Eggdrop can't figure out its
      network hostname. You can get around this by setting the my-ip setting
      in the config file correctly.

    6c. WHAT THE HECK IS Tcl?

      Tcl is a scripting language written by John Ousterhout. It's much better
      than most "built-in" script languages (like the one in ircII) and is
      meant to be linked with anything needing a  scripting language, so I
      linked it with Eggdrop. The file "tcl-commands.doc" in the doc directory
      contains a list of additional Tcl commands provided by Eggdrop. There
      are also several example scripts in the scripts/ directory, and one in
      the doc directory called first_script.txt. Hundreds of scripts floating
      around on the ftp/web sites if you like working by example (which is
      typically the best way).

    6d. MY BOT DIES, AND THE LAST ENTRY IN THE LOGFILE IS "RECEIVED TERMINATE
        SIGNAL". WHAT DOES THAT MEAN, AND CAN I PREVENT IT?

      There's nothing you can do to prevent it. It means the system
      administrator is killing the Eggdrop process. Most of the time, it's an
      automatic thing that happens when the system is being rebooted, so it's
      harmless. If you have a crontab running, the bot will get restarted when
      the system is back online. Occasionally, the system administrator will
      kill the bot manually. For example, if he/she doesn't want bots running
      on the system.

    6e. MY COMPILE DIES AT THE LAST MINUTE WITH "LD FATAL SIGNAL 11"!
      
      See doc/compiling.FAQ.

    6f. SOMEONE ELSE SET UP A BOT I DON'T LIKE. ARE THERE ANY BACKDOORS I CAN
        USE TO TAKE THEIR BOT DOWN?

      No, there have never been any backdoors and there never will be, so
      please stop asking. Every once in a while, someone finds a way to
      exploit a bug in Eggdrop, but we fix these bugs as soon as we find out
      about them. If you want to bring down someone else's bot, you will not
      have my/our help.

    6g. WHAT ARE MODULES?

      Modules are a way of adding extra features to the bot, much like Tcl
      scripts, without requiring the bot to be recompiled. See doc/MODULES
      for more information.

    6h. CAN I COMPILE EGGDROP WITHOUT DYNAMIC MODULES?

       Yes, you can. If the configure script detects that your system CAN'T
       run modules, it will setup 'make' to link the modules in statically
       for you. You can choose this option yourself by using 'make static'.
       You can also try to compile dynamic modules on a static-only system
       by using 'make eggdrop'.

    6h1. DO I STILL NEED TO 'loadmodule' MODULES?

      YES, when you compile statically, all the modules are linked into the
      main executable. HOWEVER, they are not enabled until you use loadmodule
      to enable them, hence you get nearly the same functionality with static
      modules as with dynamic modules.

    6i. WHERE CAN I GET A PRE-COMPILED EGGDROP FOR MY COMPUTER?

      It is HIGHLY recommended AGAINST using pre-compiled Eggdrops from
      un-trusted sources. Eggdrop has been a regular target for hacking and
      crashing. Distribution of pre-compiled (binary) versions of Eggdrop are
      the easiest way for hackers to provide you with the easiest (and most
      dangerous) way of gaining access to, not only your bot, but to your
      computer account directly. Don't advertise your pre-compiled Eggdrop
      binary sites on the Eggdrop list either. =P

    6j. I GET 'Makefile:3 :invalid operator' OR SOME-SUCH-THING WHEN I TRY
        TO 'make'.

      Try 'gmake'.

    6k. WHEN I 'tclsh scripts/weed <userfile> c' IT BARFS CHUNKS AT ME AND
        DIES. :(

      Upgrade your Tcl. You are probably using Tcl 7.5 or earlier. Some of the
      commands in weed require Tcl7.6 to run, so either upgrade it or remove
      the offending lines from you userfile manually (those starting with '.'
      generally) and accept the loss of that data.

    6l. I GET "ld-elf.so.1: Shared object "libtcl80.so.1" not found" or
        "eggdrop: error in loading shared libraries libtcl8.1.so: \
        cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory" WHEN I TRY
        TO START MY BOT.

      './configure' is looking in the wrong place for Tcl; it looks like it
      compiled with one version of Tcl and tries to load another. Maybe your
      sysadmin upgraded Tcl and didn't tell you. In that case, you should just
      need to recompile your bot.

      Maybe, when upgrading, he didn't clean the old version of Tcl and
      './configure' is looking for the files in the wrong places, or trying
      to use different versions of tcl.h and libtcl*. Smack your admin and
      have him install Tcl properly. ;)

      You can also try:

        ./configure --with-tcllib=<path-to-tcl-lib>
                    --with-tclinc=<path-to-tcl-inc>

      This will tell configure where to look for the Tcl files.

      Try looking for libtcl by:

        ls /usr/lib/libtcl*
        ls /usr/local/lib/libtcl*

      Try looking for tcl.h by:

        ls /usr/include/tcl.h
        ls /usr/local/include/tcl.h

        If everything else fails, try to install Tcl to your home dir ;)
        (Suggested by dw@Undernet, dw@lixom.nu)

    6m. I GET A WHOLE PILE OF "Unresolved symbol 'Tcl_AppendResult'" (OR SOME
        OTHER SYMBOL) WHEN I TRY TO LOAD A MODULES.

      POSSIBILITY A: See section 12.

      POSSIBILITY B:

        Some of the standard libraries have been compiled for static linking
        only on your machine, you have 3 options:

          1. If it's your own machine, recompile Tcl using dynamic linking by
             using './configure --enable-shared' when you configure Tcl (not
             the bot) and then remake, and reinstall.

          2. If it's not your machine, you make have to resort to 'make static'
             and 'make install DEST="path"' to make and install your bot.

          3. If you are of a more aggressive sense of mind, go beat the
             stuffing out of your admin for having lame static libraries. :)


  (7) SETTING UP A CRONTAB

    Eggdrop has become more stable with time, thanks mostly to people
    reporting bug details and helping find places where it crashes. However,
    there are still a -few- places where things aren't perfect. Few, if any,
    things in life are.

    Also, most systems go down from time to time. These things cause your bot
    to disappear from IRC, and you have to restart it.

    Eggdrop comes with a shell script called 'botchk' that will help keep the
    bot online. It will make the machine check every ten minutes to make sure
    your bot is still running. To use it, you have to add a line to your
    crontab. First, edit 'botchk' and change the directory and command line
    parameters so that it will be able to start up your bot. Then, add this
    line to your crontab:

      0,10,20,30,40,50 * * * * /home/mydir/botchk

    If you don't want to get e-mails from cron, use this:

      0,10,20,30,40,50 * * * * /home/mydir/botchk >/dev/null 2>&1

    Naturally, you need to change the path to the correct path for botchk. If
    you've never used crontab before, here is a simple way to add that line:

      1. Create a new file called 'mycron' and put the above line into it.

      2. From your shell prompt, type '% crontab mycron'.

    That will create a new crontab entry for you with a line that runs botchk
    every ten minutes. Botchk will then restart the bot when necessary (and
    send you email informing you).


  (7a) SETTING UP A CRONTAB USING AUTOBOTCHK

    Included with your Eggdrop is an Eggdrop utility called 'autobotchk'.
    Using autobotchk is probably the fastest way of creating your botchk and
    crontabbing it with just a few required steps:

      1. Type 'cp scripts/autobotchk ..'.

      2. Type './autobotchk <Eggdrop config file>'.

    This will hopefully crontab your bot using the default setup. If you want
    a list of autobotchk options, type './autobotchk'. An example with options
    would be:

      ./autobotchk <Eggdrop config file> -noemail -5

    This would setup crontab to run the botchk every 5 minutes and also to
    not send you e-mail saying that it restarted your bot.


  (8) BORING LEGAL STUFF

    The Eggdrop bot is copyright (C) by Robey Pointer. As of January, 1997,
    Eggdrop is distributed according to the GNU General Public License. There
    should be a copy of this license in the file 'COPYING'. If not, write to
    the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

    As of eggdrop1.3.28, all changes made by the Eggheads development team to
    the Eggdrop source code and any related files are copyright (C) by
    Eggheads. The source code will still be distributed according to the GNU
    General Public License as Robey Pointer did in the past.

    Releases previous to 1.0m were made using a different licensing scheme.
    You may, at your option, use the GNU General Public License on those
    versions (instead of the license packaged with them) with my blessing.
    For any versions bearing a copyright date of 1997 or later, you have
    no choice -- you must use the GNU General Public License.

    The files "match.c", "net.c", and "blowfish.c" are exempt from the above
    restrictions. "match.c" is original code by Chris Fuller (email:
    crf@cfox.bchs.uh.edu) and has been placed by him into the public domain.
    "net.c" is by me, and I [who?] also choose to place it in the public
    domain. "blowfish.c" is by various sources and is in the public domain
    as well. All 3 files contain useful functions that could easily be
    ported to other applications.

    Tcl is by John Ousterhout and is in no way affiliated with Eggdrop. It
    likely has its own set of copyrights and whatnots.

    There is no warranty, implied or whatever. You use this software at your
    own risk, no matter what purpose you put it to.


  (9) MAILING LIST

    There are currently a couple of mailing lists about Eggdrop.
    eggheads@eggheads.org is the one relevant for posts about Eggdrop 1.4 and
    up (suggestions, help, etc).

    To subscribe to the eggheads mailing list, send e-mail to
    eggheads-request@eggheads.org. In the body of the message, put "subscribe
    eggheads". You can also go to the following url:

      http://scrambled.eggheads.org/mailman/listinfo/eggheads

    ### DO NOT SEND ROBEY EMAIL ABOUT EGGDROP! ###

    Robey is no longer developing the Eggdrop code, so don't bother e-mailing
    him. If you have a serious problem, email the eggheads mailing list and
    it will get to the coders.

    Please, before posting to this list, see what things are like. When you do
    post, read over your post for readability, spelling, and grammar mistakes.
    Obviously, we're all human (or are we?) and we all make mistakes (heck,
    look at this document! ;).

    Open discussion and debate is integral to change and progress. Don't flame
    others over mere form (grammar and spelling), or even substantive issues
    for that matter. Please read and follow the mailing list rules.

    The eggheads@eggheads.org mailing list is not dedicated to those all too
    common questions we have all seen on other lists... For example:

      o "Why does my bot say this: Please edit your config file."
      o "How do I telnet my bot?"
      o "Where do I get Eggdrop for windows??????"

    Technical questions, your thoughts or suggestions on new features being
    added to Eggdrop, things that should be removed or fixed, amazing problems
    that even stump the guru's, etc. are what we want to see here.

    Bug reports should be sent to bugs@eggheads.org. Please read and fill out
    the BUG-REPORT file in the doc directory.

    DO NOT SEND HTML E-MAILS TO ANY OF THE EGGHEADS.ORG MAILING LISTS. ANYONE
    CAUGHT SENDING HTML E-MAILS TO ONE OF THESE LISTS WILL BE REMOVED
    IMMEDIATELY!


  (10) DOCUMENTATION

    We're trying to keep the documentation up to date. If you feel that
    anything is missing here or that anything should be added, etc, please
    email eggheads@eggheads.org about it. Thank you.


  (11) OBTAINING HELP

    You can obtain help with Eggdrop in the following IRC channels:

      Undernet - #eggdrop, #eggies
      EFnet - #egghelp, #eggfaq
      IRCnet - #eggdrop
      DALnet - #eggdrop, #botcentral
      OPN - #eggdrop, #egghelp
      QuakeNet - #eggdrop

    If you plan to ask questions in any of the above channels, you should be
    familiar with and follow IRC etiquette.

      o Don't type using CAPITAL letters, colors, or bold.

      o Don't use  "!" and "?" excessively.

      o Don't /msg people without their permission.

      o Don't repeat or paste large amounts of text to the channel.

    If there are any other serious Eggdrop related channels that should be
    added to the above list, please let us know.

  ________________________________________________________________________

Copyright (C) 1997 Robey Pointer
Copyright (C) 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 Eggheads Development Team
